To The Winner Go The Spoils
by alaskamoe
Summary: Kaiden still has feelings for Shepard even though she's with Garrus. Garrus sees Kaiden's slip up as an excuse to put him in his place. And Joker wins a bet. One shot, first FanFic so please be gentle. Rated T for fighting?


Garrus was heading toward the forward batteries when Shepard found him.

"Hey" She was nervous. The only time she ever opened up with 'hey' was when she wasn't sure what to say.

"Hey yourself. You got something on your mind?" He tried to sound nonchalant about it but failed.

"Yeah, uh. Can we t-talk?" Now she was stuttering!

"Sure." He takes her hand and leads her to the forward batteries, locking the door behind them. "Vega has told me that nothing good ever comes from 'Can we talk?'" He chuckles but it doesn't reach his eyes. They had already discussed their relationship, why was he so nervous. Maybe it had nothing to do with him? HA!

"Well Vega needs to keep his unwanted advice to himself." She looks him in the eyes, and for a split second he thinks she's going to walk out of the room but then she nervously starts, holding her gaze. "I-I saw Kaiden today at the hospital. We talked about things." His heart sank. She was the one thing that went right in his life and he wasn't ready to let that go. Ever.

Before he could say anything she placed a hand on his chest, stopping any words that would have come out. He wanted to look away, to hide his hurt, but instead he looked beyond her. He just couldn't bring himself to look her in the eyes.

Her smile was small, not quite reaching her eyes, "Ah Garrus, you always expect the worst to happen. That's one of the reasons why I love you." He looked her in the eyes at that. "I told him that things between us were good. I forgave him for what he said back on Horizon, and I've moved past it." He tried to step back but she grabbed the front of his armor and pulled him closer. "And, I told him that my heart belonged to a certain Turian Bad Boy." Her smile spread to her eyes, his heart skipped a beat and his mandibles fluttered.

He cleared his throat, "Well thanks for clearing that up, with Kaiden I mean. I knew we couldn't be separated, but I felt bad for him knowing what he lost."

"Uh-huh, sure you did." She kissed him with a laugh, silencing any doubt he had in his heart.

Kaiden had finally been given leave to rejoin the Normandy crew. He felt good getting out of the hospital. He was heading to the mess hall and saw a few familiar faces. Mr. Vega nodded his way, Dr. Chakwas smiled at him, a few crew members waved to him. It was great to be back. He found Garrus talking to the mess cook. He wanted to say something to him but he just couldn't voice the words. It still hurt that Shepard threw what they had together away and chose Garrus over him, but he had hurt her too. And he knew that.

He hoped that they could work past it. Months after what he said to her on Horizon he wished he could have taken the whole thing back. He had started to many other messages to her but only the first one was ever sent. But now, seeing how she had changed Garrus he wasn't so sure. He turned to leave heading back to the observation deck when Shepard came around the corner. They nearly collided but she smoothly side stepped around him, "Hey Kaiden!" was all she said as she headed straight for the turian in question, returning greetings and waves along the way. Her arms wrap around the man's waist and Kaiden turns away before he sees more. With a heavy heart he finishes the trek to the observation deck.

Garrus was working on the guns when he hears the door to the forward batteries swish open. He waited for the familiar scent of Shepard to invade his space but it never came. He looked up around the railing to find Kaiden fidgeting. "You look lost Kaiden, did you need something?" Not meaning it.

"Ah- can we talk?" He finally asked. What's with humans and asking if they could talk?

"Can it wait for a bit I'm in the middle of some calibrations." This was usually the best out he could give, it worked on Shepard well enough. Well until he craved her attention anyway.

"To be honest I don't think it can. I'll lose my nerve and kick myself for never saying what I wanted to say." He pulled his hands to his sides, straightening his back and squared his shoulders. Almost as if he were trying to make himself bigger. Garus finally stood, getting up off the floor and making sure he was standing to his full height. If this was the game Kaiden wanted to play, he'd be damned if he gave him a chance to win.

Kaiden paused, his eyes looking somewhere beyond Garrus. "You- you had best take good care of her." Kaiden took a deep steadying breath. This almost amused Garrus. "She deserves to be happy, and if that means she's found that with you then so be it. I know I hurt her far beyond what I could hope to repair, things will never go back to normal. But… I want to know that she will never go through that again. With anyone." Kaiden stood there looking defeated, but Garrus wasn't going to let this one just roll off the shoulder.

His voice was even, at least at the start. "Kaiden, I'm going to tell you this only once. If I feel like I must say this again it will not be with words." He let the anger seep into his subharmonics. "After what you said to her on Horizon she holed herself up in her quarters for a few hours. Then she decided drinks were in order so she invited Zaeed and I out to Afterlife on Omega. And of course we found the one bartender that poisoned humans for a living. Of course she was the first and only human to survive his concoctions. We had to drag her away back to the Normandy after we watched him get shot. Chakwas was in and out of her cabin for hours once we got back. I made up a story for the rest of the crew but Zaeed and I know how hard it hit almost killed her." He paused for a moment to let it sink in, then continued. He was far from done. "I thought we had lost her on the suicide mission to the collector base. She headed the team that destroyed the human reaper. I helped her cope with the loss of an entire star system cutting off countless lives from the rest of the galaxy, just to give us the extra time to prepare for the reapers." His voice was reaching the volume of a yell. "Me, the man who actually questioned her when she told me how she felt. Telling her she could find someone closer to home. Knowing I'd be giving up my own happiness to ensure hers." Kaiden's face paled and his eyes were the size of dinner plates. Garrus dropped his voice to just above a whisper. "I made sure she was happy before I fell in love. So, Staff Lieutenant Alenko, please note that I'll always put her happiness, heart, and life before mine." He turned on his heel and started tinkering with the main guns until he heard Kaiden mumble his way out of the forward batteries. He stood there staring at his hands until his eyes drooped with exhaustion.

He drank way too much again. He had to stop hanging out with Vega after missions, that man could drink Kaiden under the table. But it was a good distraction, his 'talk' with Garrus still fresh in his mind. He had gone in thinking that it was for himself, getting closure so he could finally move on. The little voice in the back of his head that he didn't acknowledge knew the truth though. He had hoped that Garrus would step aside and end things with her.

He was stumbling to the crew's quarters when the woman herself stepped off the elevator. She was beautiful. Her red hair that just met her chin, the soft makeup that she wore, and the tattered N7 zipper hoodie that she always had on.

"Kaiden!" She smiled. It was a gorgeous smile, but not the one she saved for Garrus. Not the one she used to send his way. "You look like you've seen better days! You been drinking in the observation deck? I've done that a few times myself." She laughed.

He knew this. More than once he would spy her stagger out of that room. But it wasn't a fun drunk. She had a load that no single person should ever have to deal with. The fate of an entire galaxy was on her shoulders. She was such a strong, beautiful woman.

"Hey Kaiden, you feeling alright? You don't look too good." He realized that he had been staring at her like a village idiot. His brain told him to say something, but his body had something else in mind. He leaned down looking into her eyes, and just before their lips touched his head jerked to the right. Pain exploded in his jaw and in a blink he was watching Shepard walk away from his vantage point on the floor.

After a few moments he picked himself up off the floor and continued his trek to the crew's quarters, thankful that no one saw his massive blunder.

Garrus laughed. It wasn't a pleasant sound. It was a laugh born of anger. He had no clue who sent him the security footage, but he didn't care either. He was happy to finally figure out what had been bothering Shepard the last few days, and to know that she could knock a man out cold for a few seconds. He wasn't even bothered by the fact that she didn't tell him what happened, he trusted her. It was the fact that Kaiden completely ignored every warning that he gave him. There was only one way to settle this.

Kaiden heard the message ping on his omni tool. He had a bad feeling about it when he read who sent it.

'Kaiden,

You ignored the warnings. You and me in the shuttle bay. Tomorrow at 1500 hours. Hand to hand combat only, no biotics. This is not a 'fight for her hand' kind of fight. This is so I can end this amicably without shooting you on a mission.

-G'

Yep, Kaiden wasn't looking forward to tomorrow.

1500 hours rolled around fast. Before he knew it Garrus was wrapping his talons with help from Vega. He took off his usual heavy armor and was dressed in a light pair of pants that one of the other crew members let him borrow, he called them sweat pants, and a tshirt. The shirt hung ridiculously on him but he didn't care. He was ready to go when Kaiden finally walked in. He was dressed similarly, but instead of anger, he looked a bit afraid.

"You know scars, you don't have to go through with this." Vega was always giving unwanted advice.

"Thanks but it's best that we 'duke it out' as you humans say. Maybe once it's all out in the open and we've been at each other's throats we can move past it." Garrus watched as Kaiden spoke with Steve behind the shuttle. In a blink the shuttle bay was packed full of people. There were people on the engineering floor looking out through the windows. Apparently word got out about the little sparring match. He turned back to find Kaiden waiting in the middle of the makeshift ring, looking almost bored.

Garrus nodded to Vega and walked to the center and met Kaiden. There was no preamble, nothing to even mark the start of the match, but both men stood at the ready. Hands up, on the balls of their feet, with fire in their eyes. Garrus was vaguely aware of Vega talking on his radio about containing a situation as he walked away from the crowd. Liara took his place.

There was a hush in the room, you could hear the creaking of bulkheads and the hum of the engines. No one made a sound. For all Garrus could see was the man in front of him. Seconds ticked by until he let out a war cry that hadn't been heard by his people since the Unification War.

He charged straight at Kaiden. And much to his surprise Kaiden not only blocked the hit but landed one of his own. Right in Garrus's stomach. He grunted and brought his foot down on top of Kaiden's causing a howl of pain to erupt from the human. There was a punch aimed to his shoulder, he rolled it off and knocked Kaiden's legs out from under him. The man turned his fall into a controlled tumble, rolling away from him and popping back up on the balls of his feet. Kaiden's eyes darkened.

This might actually take longer than he had anticipated. Who knows, he might even enjoy this.

"Vega, you stop covering for them. I know something is going on in the shuttle bay. All you have to say is 'don't tell Shepard' and I'll hear about it! I even have the security footage, AND the message that was sent out to prove it. Now move." Shepard looked like she could kill a Reaper with her bare hands.

"Lola look, it's better this way. They know what they're doing- both are grown men that need to settle a grudge, it's better for everyone this way. The tension was getting ridiculous." James had to hide his smile, when she was like this the last thing she wanted was a smile. It made her angry face crack.

"And Lieutenant Vega, why on earth would they need to settle a grudge?" Her eyes widened in anger. "It's not like there was certain security footage that was sent to someone's omni tool that would cause this sudden need to settle anything."

Vega mentally rolled his eyes. "Look, Lola, Garrus didn't know what was bothering you, and you apparently hadn't told him. I was only trying t-"

"NO! I'm not some maiden fair who needs her honor defended!" She cut him off with a yell.

"Commander Shepard!" Vega used his drill sergeant voice, stunning her to silence. "I am not doing this for your wounded pride, I am doing this for the rest of the crew. Garrus and Kaiden have been at each other for a while now and we are suffering for it. They get to settle this amicably and we get to watch a good show." He looked at her, holding his breath.

She sighed and her shoulders dropped. "Yeah you're right." She put on a small smile. "Let's go see how long Kaiden will last."

"You really think Garrus will win?" Vega asked, he actually had his money on Kaiden.

"Well I can't very well bet against him now can I?" She laughed and headed to the elevator with Vega in tow.

By the time Shepard and Vega made it down the the shuttle bay Dr. Chakwas was leaning over Kaiden and Garrus was sitting on the floor holding his head. Liara walks up to Shepard with a small smile on her lips. "You missed an exciting fight, unfortunately there was no winner. Kaiden used his biotics and Garrus headbutted Kaiden. Thus both have been 'disqualified'."

Shepard looked between the two men and started laughing hysterically, startling everyone out of their silence. Kaiden sat up, looking confused with a huge knot on his forehead but no worse for wear. Garrus sat with his mandibles hanging open and his hands fell to the floor. Shepard pulled herself together so she could make one announcement. Making eye contact with Kaiden and Garrus each in turn saying, "You now must have a tiebreaker round. I want the report on my desk tomorrow morning at 800 hours."

Nothing but silence followed her as she walked onto the elevator, throwing one last look to Garrus and Kaiden as the doors closed.

Garrus cleared his throat not knowing what to say. Kaiden on the other hand, looked more lost than before. "Does she really expect us to have a tiebreaker round now?"

"No, she doesn't Kaiden." Garrus stood up and walked over to Kaiden offering his hand. "We good?" Was all he asked.

Kaiden looked at the offered hand momentarily before taking it into his own, lifting himself up. "Yeah, we're good."

An angry rumble came from the surrounding crowd, no one had won any of the bets. At least that was until a sly pilot popped on the loudspeaker. "Uh, so should I come down there to pick up my winnings or will it be delivered to my station?" No one answered him.


End file.
